[bpascani]

so did I, at Colony Cottage today

[Carlsondm]

I worked the 2016 polls in Michigan. Most states are computerized and keep records of when and how you vote. A double vote was impossible. The second vote would not count. We are not dummies. Btw, people were pushed in with wheel chairs and on mobile beds in the last 3 hours. A lot of sick people came in. I am TB positive (latent) as a result.

Given the contagion of the corona virus, and the abundance of “symptomless carriers”, I would suggest non-contact voting this year. Vote by mail is one option. If you have problems with that, suggest another non-contact option to the leaders. Let’s solve problems, not complain about them.

If you choose to show up At the polls in person, we will assume you are positive and treat you as instructed. (I work in Florida now.)

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Except they don't need no stankin mail-in ballot. All they need are electronic voting machines at the polls.

Yes and they can hit any totals sent to a summary central area. Anywhere votes are digital, they are vulnerable. They can be "flipped". And the mail-in ballots are a paper trail. So we must preserve and count them, no matter how long it takes.

[tedquick]

Originally Posted by bobnyce

I don't think anyone in their right mind would be concerned with mail in voting except for timing issues, received on time. However, if anyone is proposing mass mailings to all residents that are not registered voters, then everyone should have a problem.

Right now you must request an absentee ballot. It is checked and confirmed that you are a registered voter and mailed to you where you requested. Then you must return the ballot within a certain time limit or your vote is not counted.

That's fine! But, having the post office mail by reduced price mass mailing to everyone is ridiculous! If you cannot take the time to register to vote by mail, car registration at any county office then you don't deserve to vote. Voting is an obligation of every citizen but not every one in the county is a citizen and they certainly do not have the right to vote.

Everything you said is dead nuts on! Nicely done.

ted

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by bobnyce

I don't think anyone in their right mind would be concerned with mail in voting except for timing issues, received on time. However, if anyone is proposing mass mailings to all residents that are not registered voters, then everyone should have a problem.

Right now you must request an absentee ballot. It is checked and confirmed that you are a registered voter and mailed to you where you requested. Then you must return the ballot within a certain time limit or your vote is not counted.

That's fine! But, having the post office mail by reduced price mass mailing to everyone is ridiculous! If you cannot take the time to register to vote by mail, car registration at any county office then you don't deserve to vote. Voting is an obligation of every citizen but not every one in the county is a citizen and they certainly do not have the right to vote.

Useful article by the former Chair of the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission. She says the main thing to be done is to process the ballots sent out as regular first class mail—the way it has historically been done—instead of as Non-Profit rate Mail, which usually takes 7-10 days to deliver. She says the Post Office is entirely capable of doing that. It just has to be told to.
Opinion | I Was a Postal Service Regulator for 18 Years. Don’t Panic. - The New York Times

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by sallybowron

Your reply mamamia shows me that you have a limited over vision of TV. Many people her can no longer go to Publix to shope. Someone shops for them. I finds your remark about "responsible people" going out to vote. Maybe it is time to get your head out of the "Bubble" in which you live and look around and see the numbers of elderly people who still live in TV but would never have been able to stand in line to vote.
I have recently been confined to a wheelchair, and I would never be able to stand in line to vote.

Not to be harsh but doesn't your wheelchair allow you to "sit" in line to vote? And won't you get head of the line privilege if you are handicapped? No one has said anything about limiting absentee voting for those that cannot get to the polls. The problem is with mass mailings of ballots to an unverified list of voters.

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Yes and they can hit any totals sent to a summary central area. Anywhere votes are digital, they are vulnerable. They can be "flipped". And the mail-in ballots are a paper trail. So we must preserve and count them, no matter how long it takes.

I guess you did not know of the problem of some states that will not allow verification of mail in ballots. When there has been question about voter fraud, states have refused to allow investigators in to check and verify the ballots.
I have no problem with absentee voting, IF the ballot is certified/verified. Overseas, the absentee ballot has to be verified by a third party. At least, when it comes to the military. All voters must be American citizens by law, and the honor system as proof is not sufficient.

[Bay Kid]

Virginia decided this year to end voter id. Dumbest thing ever. A great opportunity to cheat.

[hipplepi]

Originally Posted by bobnyce

I don't think anyone in their right mind would be concerned with mail in voting except for timing issues, received on time. However, if anyone is proposing mass mailings to all residents that are not registered voters, then everyone should have a problem.


Right now you must request an absentee ballot. It is checked and confirmed that you are a registered voter and mailed to you where you requested. Then you must

return the ballot within a certain time limit or your vote is not counted.

That's fine! But, having the post office mail by reduced price mass mailing to everyone is ridiculous! If you cannot take the time to register to vote by mail, car registration at any county office then you don't deserve to vote. Voting is an obligation of every citizen but not every one in the county is a citizen and they certainly do not have the right to vote.

on the outside under the bar code you will see Rep or Dem
also your bame and email plus your phone number
does not seem so confidential

[tvbound]

Originally Posted by hipplepi

on the outside under the bar code you will see Rep or Dem
also your bame and email plus your phone number
does not seem so confidential

Since I have never heard of the envelope for a mail-in ballot identifying the voter's party or other personal information, in any state, I looked it up. Here's what I found.

Ballot envelope barcodes showing party affiliation were for primary only


"CLAIM: Vote-by-mail ballot envelopes have barcodes that reveal what party you are registered with.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. Envelopes for mail-in ballots from the Aug. 18 primary in Palm Beach County, Florida, did identify whether the voter was a registered Republican or Democrat, but this will not be the case for envelopes used in the Nov. 3 general election.."

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Because at least in Florida, THERE IS NO UNSOLICITED BALLOTS.

It's not a thing, here.

No one is getting an actual ballot, unless they have actually requested one.

What is being unsolicited is a "request for ballot" form. Registered voters are getting them in the mail. You STILL can't vote by mail if you get one of these forms. You have to physically fill it out, and physically return that form to the Supervisor of Elections, and you have to wait for them to verify it and then mail you the physical ballot. And THEN you can fill that in and mail it in.

YOU have to ask THEM for the ballot. There are two things going on here:

Request for Ballot Form

and

Ballot.

The former is being sent to registered voters, unsolicited.
The latter MUST be requested from the voter, using that form.

Easier and safer to just vote in person during an early voting period. I don't wait in long lines and always vote early. Haven't waited in an election day line for decades.

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by goldseekur

I know for fact that if the signatures don't match on the mail in ballot, the ballot is kicked out! Signature is checked same as if you go vote personally.

Nope, signatures are NOT checked for a match. Signatures are only checked to make sure the ballot is signed, period. Volunteers are not FBI trained signature experts.

[eyc234]

What will be the outcry from either party when ballots are found 10 days after the election and were not counted! If you thought the "hanging chad" was a catastrophe wait until ballots are not counted due to invalid signatures, not arriving in time and bundles found with postmarks after the close of polls.

This is not an issue of whether the USPS can process mail timely it is an issue of not all states being prepared for 100% mail in voting with all the twist and turns that could happen. How long would we have to wait for a resolution of our presidential election and would anyone trust the process now or in the future?

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by Snowprint

I see nothing “ridiculous “ about making it easy to exercise your voting franchise. You make think someone should have to request something that is their right, but I don’t think you should have to make any extra effort to vote. Instead of making voting more difficult, what’s the problem with making voting as easy possible?
The “problem” is that there are many people, and ewe know who they are, that don’t believe everyone should be able to vote and try their best to make voting difficult. They talk about “voter fraud”, for example, when it doesn’t exist to even be a statistic. They make thousands and thousands of people, as seen in Georgia, vote at a single spot with impossibly long lines while more affluent White areas have plenty of voting sites that have no lines or minimum wait.
As Joseph Goebbels said, if you repeat a big lie long enough, people will start to believe it. We see that teaching being practiced today.
Everyone should be able to vote with the least effort possible. The only people against doing that are those who don’t want everyone to vote.
Another thing that should be eliminated is the Electoral College. It’s a remnant of slavery that was used to count each slave as 3/5ths of a person for counting votes to elect a President. No other elected office in the country allows a person who gets less votes get elected! If it wasn’t in the Constitution, it’d be unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause. Your vote carries more or less weight depending on where you live...talk about ridiculous! That’s why you never see a Presidential candidate campaign in Alabama or the most populous state, California. Instead they only appear in states like Florida, Ohio, etc. There shouldn’t be “battleground” states, only states with voters whose votes count the same as everyone else, not mattering where they live. Why should a Republican’s vote in New York be meaningless or a Democrat’s be the same in Alabama?
The Electoral College has no place in America and disenfranchises millions of Americans, It has no valid reason to exist today because slavery ended a long time ago. If you believe in democracy, and many of you don’t, you should rise up and have the stain of the Electoral College placed into the ash heap of history where it belongs.

The problem is that making something "easy" is not an option for something so serious. However, how could voting in person not be "easy?" After all, I have seen churches and other organizations actually transport or bus voters to the polls. Anyone that shops, or even walks a dog can vote in person. Absentee voting takes care of those that can't get out or are out of town. Forcing someone to vote is not American.
By the way, we are not a "democracy" we are a Republic. Electoral votes are necessary so that ALL states have an equal say in how our country is run, not just those states with the most bodies. I haven't seen anyone "disenfranchised" in close to a hundred years, so parroting talking points is a bit disingenuous.

[Byte1]

Verification of EACH mail in vote is a GREAT idea, this year. By the time all the votes are counted and verified those presently in office will get an extra year at least to continue their work. Now, politicians can count on three or five years per term instead of two and four years. Great idea!